Heat goes on US investor to deliver

Vinh Hoi resort illustration photo

An American investor is under pressure to deliver central Binh Dinh province’s biggest tourism project.

The provincial authority this month asked ITC Condor Development to complete all administrative procedures to start construction of its $250 million Vinh Hoi resort in the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone in 2012.

“The project construction has been delayed for four years, we want the investor to implement its commitment,” said Man Ngoc Ly, head of the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone Management Authority.

Vinh Hoi resort, granted an investment certificate in 2007, is supposed to have three resorts, an 18-hole golf course, a convention centre, luxurious villas and an entertainment centre.

The investor signed contracts with hotel management firms Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott and Outrigger for managing three resorts in the project.

Ly said slow site clearance was to blame, not the investor’s financial ability. But now, half of the project’s site has been cleared. The provincial authority already handed over 135 hectares out of 235ha to investors. “While we are completing site clearance at remaining site, investors should implement their commitments at the cleared site,” he said.

Ly added the resort, once operational, would bolster the provincial tourism sector and make the province more attractive to foreign and domestic tourists.

Binh Dinh, home of Quy Nhon port, is considered a gateway to the sea via the highlands region, southern Laos, northeastern Cambodia and Thailand. Some of domestic companies like ITC Condor Development are building luxurious resorts in Nhon Hoi zone to tap into the province’s tourism potential.

My Tai Company registered to develop Rainbow Resort and An Phu Thinh Company registered to build the $100 million Quy Nhon Four Seasons Bay Resort in the zone.

More than 50 investors have registered business plans in the zone. The investors include Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturing contractor, Taiwan’s Formosa Group, China’s Abestech, Singapore’s Boustead and Germany’s Bitburger. Thailand’s Rayong Purifier Public Company and STFE Company are preparing to build an oil refinery and a thermoelectricity plant in the zone, respectively.

As of the end of April, 33 investment projects have been licensed in Nhon Hoi zone worth about $1 billion.